Products I Absolutely Love But Are Afraid Of Hitting Pan On

Good afternoon everyone :) Finally I have some free time on my hands and I will put it to good use...catch up with blog posts!

 

As you can tell by the title, this post will be all about products which I don't want to use up just because I like them so much! In fact, I tend to be very careful how much I use whenever I reach for these products! 

 

All the products I am going to show you are either limited editions, discontinued or very hard to find, and I also have products from brands which are not available in Malta or they are too expensive to buy.

 

Fitting the latter two categories are products I get from Meg's Makeup and I am going to start with those. I have mentioned this website in some of my previous posts and while I do not redeem points every month (I like to wait till I accumulate 250 points since you have to pay $15 for shipping), I really like the whole idea of it. By paying only for shipping, I usually receive 4 full-sized products from high-end brands which would add up to much more than just $15. Plus, I get to try different brands as well! The only downside is that sometimes, the packages take long to arrive but to make up for the last such occurrence, Meg sent me and others whose packages also took long to arrive, an additional 3 products in a separate package which was so lovely of her and a pleasant surprise for me!

 

Enough rambling and let's get going with the products! So first up, I have Napoleon Perdis Ultimate Contour Kit. I have featured this palette countless times in my monthly favourites. Besides the packaging, the reason I love this kit so much is the matte bronzer. It is not too dark and not shimmery so it is perfect for day and night use for the most natural sun-kissed glow and it blends with my pale skin nicely. All three components have a silky texture and are easily blendable/buildable.
 

 

Also from Meg's Makeup, I have the RevitaLash Volumising Primer. I just can't get over how full my lashes look when I apply this before mascara! Being navy blue in colour also makes it excellent to use under a blue mascara to intensify the shade as well as being easier to cover up than a white primer.
 

 

Moving on, I have Liptini Lip Liquor in Pink Lady, which, come this time of year, is a staple product. I have a dupe for it in my collection but this one is more buildable and lasts longer plus it takes less time to dry...oh and I love the name!

 

Keeping with the lip products theme, I have this Maybelline WaterShine Lipstick in 02 Beige Glace. If you have been following me for a while you know that I had run out of this lipstick way back when it was called Cocoa Shake and I couldn't find a back up anywhere. After doing some research, I learnt that they changed the name and packaging so I started the search again, and I was lucky to find the last one available at my local supermarket! This was actually my first lipstick and I love how natural the colour looks!
 

 

Next up is this XXXL Shine Lipgloss by Essence in the shade 020 Wood Of Roses. I remember eyeing the product up during a bloggers' event and I got hold of it as soon as I could! It is a beautiful, shimmery plum shade that is pigmented enough to be worn alone or layered with lipstick. Sadly this has been discontinued so I am being really careful with it.

 

More from Essence. I have 4 limited edition products from this budget friendly brand and I am kind of gutted that they never thought of including any of them in their permanent line at least for now and as far as I know. The first three products belong to the Marble Mania Trend Edition and they are namely. the blush 01 Swirlpool and two eyeshadows 01 Seriously Mixed Up and 03 Swirl It Baby! All three have excellent pigmentation and staying power and I just love the look of them. The other product is from the more recent Guerilla Gardening  Trend Edition and it is the eyebrow mascara in the shade 01 Garden Girls. I like how this mascara makes my brows appear fuller instantly and being a tad lighter in colour, it doesn't look too harsh.
 

 

From Essence's sister brand Catrice, I have this Long Lasting Eye Liner Pen in the shade 070 Puddle Of Mudd. Sadly, this too is discontinued and I cannot see why. It lasts all day without budging and is probably the best brown eyeliner I have ever tried.

 

The last eye product I have is from Maybelline and it is this EyeStudio quad in 400 Olive Martini. This was actually a limited edition designed for some Fashion Week and it is quite hard to find. I managed to find a genuine, not overpriced, unopened one from a French Ebay seller last year and I covet the little palette to date! Two of the shades are quite unique and I have never seen anything like them before.

 

Moving on to the last category of products, nail polishes, I have yet another hard to find product from Maybelline. It is none other than Wet Shine Diamonds Into The Sunset. It is the most beautiful shimmery coral I have ever seen and it is my go-to summer shade. Pity I cannot find a back up for it.

 

Next are two polishes from Essence, both of which are totally cool for this time of year. I have Irreplaceable from their old line (which ironically has been discontinued in their new line) and True Love from the Vampire's Love Trend Edition. They are both shimmery shades and I always get a lot of compliments when I wear them.

The last product I want to talk about is my most expensive polish and it is from the O.P.I. Skyfall Collection in celebration of 50 years of James Bond. The shade is The Man With The Golden Gun and it is and 18K gold top coat. It adds a sophisticated edged to any manicure and it is one of my most treasured polishes.

So that's it for this post ladies! Am I the only one with this 'fear'? No? Let me know which products you are most afraid of running out of :) 

Monthly Favourites | September

My my time is flying by! Here are my September favourites ladies.

 

Starting with make up, I have been wearing these two lip glosses almost everyday this month. Both are neutral shades with shimmer and they are perfect for both day and night wear. They last really good and I find them both to be very moisturising. I like to wear Catrice Colour Show 080 Nude-Tritious first and layer some Essence XXXL Shine 08 Glamour To Go in the middle to give the illusion of fuller lips.

This month, I have been delving into the world of filling brows to make them look fuller more often and I found myself reaching mostly for Essence Eyebrow Designer 04 Blonde and Essence Guerilla Gardening Trend Edition Eyebrow Mascara 01 Garden Girls. They are exactly the same shade of light 'ashy' brown and I discovered I much prefer to use eyebrow products that are slightly lighter than the actual colour of my brows. Thumbs up for both products for performance and ease of use, I just hope Essence introduce the mascara as part of their permanent line.

 

 

Catrice Glamour Doll Mascara is once again my favourite because I really like the way it separates my lashes, giving me a voluminous look that seems as though I am wearing lashes. The last eye product I have been favouring this month, is the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk. An ever popular cult favourite, I like to use this product as a base for my eyeshadows to make the colours pop and it never disappoints!

 

The Ultimate Contour Palette from Napoleon Perdis is one of my all time favourite products for various reasons, the main ones being, the packaging, the texture of all three products and the matte bronzer that is not too dark for my skin tone. Need I say more?

 

I have a new favourite skin care product as well and it is none other than Michael Todd Jojoba Charcoal Facial Scrub. I will be reviewing this in full so all I am going to say for now is that I love how this feels on my skin and they way my skin looks after using it.

 

 

The hair brush is my favourite hair gadget this month. It was part of the goodie bag from the Dean Gera Hair Care opening earlier this month and I always favour wide bristled brushes for when I need to brush my hair while wet. This one also comes with a nifty small mirror at the back that you can take out to use while on the go.

 

Foundation sponges or rather Beauty Blenders and their dupes have been all over the blogsphere as of late and a few months back I bought two dupes off Ebay at a fraction of the price and I never went back to applying foundation with a brush ever since. I love how the foundation looks whena pplied with a wet sponge because it gives you the right amount of coverage without looking cakey.

 

Last but not least, the Aztec nails were a favourite with me and people who complimented me on them. They are really easy to re-create (check out the tutorial here) and the neon studs give the manicure a fashion forward feel.

 

Best Of 2012: Face

For the penultimate post in this series, I will show you what my favourite face products have been throughout the year, starting with Catrice Ultimate Moisture Fresh Skin Make-up in 010 Light Beige*. Whenever I need a little extra coverage during the day, I opt for this foundation which has a light and very natural coverage. The colour is an exact match to my skin-tone and stays put all day. 

Another face product that I use everyday is E.L.F. Studio Translucent Mattifying Powder which I use both alone and to set foundation and the result is excellent each time! I cannot not mention my all time favourite concealer from Essence which is the Stay Natural Concealer in 01 Soft Beige. It conceals zits and dark circles beautifully even though it offers light coverage...perfect for both day and night! To make sure my make-up stays put all throughout the day/night, I have been loving E.L.F. Studio Make-Up Mist & Set* as a fixer.

This year I have become more acquainted with different shades of blush and consequently my favourites are E.L.F. Studio Blush in Candid Coral, Essence Marble Mania Trend Edition Blush in 01 Swirlpool* and Catrice Defining Blush in 060 Rosewood Forest*. They all offer excellent pigmentation and a healthy, flushed look to the cheeks :)

The last face product that will make this list is a recently discovered gem...Napoleon Perdis Ultimate Contour Palette*. It has three components, a highlight, a blush and a bronzer and I am especially fond of the matte bronzer that is not too dark for me; on the contrary, it is the perfect bronzer! All three components are very pigmented albeit a little powdery.

 

Check back tomorrow for the last instalment in the series, dealing with eye products.

Part 1: Nails

Part 2: Skin Care

Part 3: Lips

Products marked with * were either gifted to me or else sent by the respective companies' PR for review purposes.

Monthly Favourites: December

How are you all today? The year is officially at an end and as it so happens at the end of each month, here are my monthly favourites. I am also planning to do a series of Best of 2012 in terms of beauty products so let me know if you would like to see that kind of posts.

My most favourite item this month has been a fashion item, more specifically a pair of shoes, and even more specifically, a pair of boots. Enter the Nine West that my bf bought me for Christmas :)

They're the most comfortable pair of boots I have ever owned and I really like how they dress up an outfit effortlessly while at the same time lending it a bit of an edge. 

Now on to cosmetics, starting with lip products. If you have a look at my OOTD posts, I rarely wear a single lip product, but I tend to pair up products more often than not. My favourite pairs this month have been Liptini Lip Liqueur in 4013 Pink Lady which stains the lips a nice dark pink colour together with Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss in 15 True Love & Catrice Ultimate Colour Lipstick in 190 The Nuder The Better and Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss in 08 Glamour To Go.

Moving on the eye department, I have quite a few products, most of which are new discoveries. With regards mascara, I have been reaching for Catrice's Glamour Doll Mascara mostly and when paired with RevitaLash Volumizing Primer, they give my lashes a whole new dimension. I also have a new favourite eyeshadow and glitter eyeliner, courtesy of Pupa Milano in Malta with which I did the NYE make-up in yesterday's post. You can also check out my full review on both products here. Lastly, since I have really been into neutrals this month, I opted for a brown kajal liner for everyday use and my favourite has been Catrice Kajal Designer in 150 Up&Brown&Up&Brown...

Next come the face and body products, namely Zadig & Voltaire Tome 1 - For Her La Purete and Burberry The Beat for perfumes and Napoleon Perdis Ultimate Contour Palette.  The palette is definitely my favourite contour tool as the bronzer is matte and matches my pale skin tone without looking too obvious and the blush is a pretty pink colour. The highlight provides a delicate pearly finish, perfect to emphasise cheekbones and your lips!

What were your end-of-year favourites ladies? Happy New Year to all!

FOTD: 20/01/2012

Hello lovelies :) So this post is a bit over due but I was somewhat busy this weekend, hence I will be posting more posts to make up for it.  Anyways, last Friday was a very nice day outside albeit chilly but that didn't stop me from going out :) Johan was on leave and we decided to grab lunch at Bugibba after I bought some new colour gels for my clients to choose from (if anyone is interested in seeing my collection, let me know in the comments section).  

I missed getting dolled up with work and my Masters dissertation proposal taking up most of my time so I took the chance to put on some make up even if it was just for lunch. I opted for a neutral look with a brightish lip and this is what I came up with:

Face

Inglot Under the Make-Up Base

Revlon ColorStay Foundation for Oily/Combination Skin in 180 Sand Beige

essence stay natural concealer in 01 Soft Beige

NYX Concealer in a Jar in CJ12 Green

e.l.f. Studio Translucent Mattifying Powder

e.l.f. Studio Blush in Candid Coral 

Eyes

e.l.f. Eyelid Primer

e.l.f. All Over Color Stick in Persimmon

e.l.f. Everyday Brights 32 Piece Eyeshadow palette (matte brown, shimmery blush pink, light gold)

e.l.f. Studio Cream Eyeliner in Metallic Olive

Estee Lauder Eye Defining Pencil in Deep Brown

e.l.f. Lengthening & Defining Mascara in Black Brown

Lips

e.l.f. Matte Lip Color in Coral

Napoleon Perdis Protege Lip Gloss

H&M lipgloss in Queen of Peach (nude shade)

Shirt, Terranova

Jeans, Stradivarius

Heeled Military boots, Peacocks

Earrings, Tenda

Belt, Promod (came with a pair of shorts)

As I said it was chilly so I also wore an olive green bomber jacket from Peacocks but I didn't take a picture of me in it.  The picture below are of the views from the restaurant.

Review: Napoleon Perdis Protege Lip Gloss

Here's another lipgloss review! This time, it is the only high-end lipgloss that I own to date... Napoleon Perdis Protege Lip Gloss.

This lipgloss was sent to me for free from Meg's Make-up after redeeming 50 make-up points (if anyone of you wants me to send them an invitation to join Meg's Make-up please don't hesitate to let me know. P.S. you now have to pay a small fee for shipping though when redeeming the points).

Here's what NP says about this lipgloss:

'This limited edition mint-flavored lip gloss is the secret to lustrous lips 24/7. A built-in mirror ensures ease of application, while Bees Wax nourishes and protects your pout. Result: Lips are left super-shiny.'

As you can see from the image here, the lipgloss comes in a transparent, square tube with the company name on the front stamped in gold and a small mirror on the lid, all packaged in the pictured leopard print box. I don't normally keep boxes but I like this one so much, I decided to keep it (plus, it's a high-end product hehe). Overall, I really like the packaging as it looks really professional; in fact, in this regard, it is my favourite gloss.

The colour may look a bit scary at first, but it is just a nude coral colour, perfect for summer days and to brighten up winter days as well. Here's a swatch:

                               

As you open the tube, a nice, fresh, minty smell greets you and this lingers onto your lips for a few minutes, during which you will feel a tingling sensation. The applicator resembles a lip-brush, but the bristles stay close together due to the liquid texture of the gloss. However, application is still smooth and not-sticky at all. 

With regards stay-on power, this gloss compares to others I have which is average.

I like the mirror thing, but I still can't figure out how I am supposed to apply the lipgloss and look at it at the same time :S but I carry a mirror with me all the time so that is no big deal. Finally, I like how soft, smooth and moisturized my lips feel when wearing this lipgloss.

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My Lip Gloss Collection and some reviews

Hello there sweeties :)

This review will be a bit different from my previous ones because I will include all the lip glosses I have and I will do short reviews on each of them. Enjoy reading through :)

I'm going to start with my latest additions which I am now addicted to thanks to e.l.f. for sending them as a free gift with my last order. These are the bottom 3 lip glosses in the picture above. I got 3 shades:

- Iced Latte

- Malt Shake

- Goddess

My favourite has got to be Goddess. It's more of the colour I normally go to for my lips. However, I was surprised that the other two are not that dark against my fair complexion :) What I like about these lip glosses is the sweet smell and taste and also the fact that they are not sticky at all (this has also been confirmed by my boyfriend :P). They really last long as well. And here they are in their pretty pouch which e.l.f. supplied them in :) :

My next two most used lip glosses are the Nivea one (uppermost peachy tube) and the clear one with the pink cap which is by Rimmel. The Nivea one is called Caregloss and Shine in Neutral from their Lip Care range and the Rimmel one is from the Shock Gloss range and its 200 Clearly Clear.

The Nivea lip gloss is always shifting from one bag to the other; which ever I choose to take with me when I'm out. It has a really pleasant smell and glides on smoothly without being sticky. The neutral colour ensures it goes with every look.

The clear gloss by Rimmel is a bit sticky but not that much it still gives me a good result...worn alone or on lipstick. What I like about it is the spatula applicator because it gathers just the right amount of gloss for precise application. Here is a picture of the applicator:

Another favourite is one I got as a gift last month (I even included it in my June favourites) for redeeming 50 make up points on Meg's Make up (just send me an email if you want me to send you an invite to join). It is one my faves for various reasons:

1. I love the packaging

2. It's high end

3. Its colour

4. The soft applicator brush

5. Its minty taste

6. A small mirror is included on the cap

Here are pictures of the packaging, applicator and mirror...

Next, are the two middle tubes...the pink one and the yellowish one.

The pink one, I received it as a gift last Christmas and it was part of a set from Primark. I love the smell of sweets it has and the pink colour. However, I dislike the stickiness of the product...I still use it though. Who can ever refuse a pink lip gloss :P ??

The yellowish one is from The Body Shop and it is also a bit sticky. I use it mainly for nights out because it is glittery and I think glitter should be left for the night.

Another The Body Shop purchase...Born Lippy Lip Balm in Passion Berry. I love these lip balms and can't seem to get enough of them (I had a Strawberry one too)! Not only do they taste lovely, but besides protecting your lips with a just-seen sheen, they are also glossy so I use it as a lip gloss as well. I don't carry it around with me because it is in a pot and I hate sticking my finger in a pot without being able to wash my hands afterwards...not to mention contaminating the product itself. What I do instead is I use a small lip brush to apply it.

Finally, the last one is from L'Oreal and it is called Glam Shine Crystals in Coral Strass 301. I bought this lip gloss from Corfu Airport last year before I departed back home. Since it is somewhat glittery I also like to use it at night. It has a sponge applicator and it is not sticky and lasts well.

Hope you enjoyed this article!

Stay beautiful,

Lara xoxo

June 2010 Favourites

Hello make-upholics :) It's time for my first monthly favourites post and well here they are!

From left to right they are:

- e.l.f. studio Complexion Perfection

- e.l.f. nail polish in Medium Red

- Rimmel 60 Seconds nail polish in 270 Shocker

- e.l.f. nail polish in Dark Navy

- e.l.f. dual pencil sharpener

- Rimmel Lasting Finish Minerals Loose powder foundation in 001 Ivory

- Napoleon Perdis Protege lipgloss

- essence stay natural concealer in 01 Soft Beige

- L'oreal Telescopic Explosion Mascara in Black

- Max Factor Lash Lift Volume & Lift Mascara in 5074 Black/Brown

To start off, my absolute favourite product is the Complexion Perfection by e.l.f. It retails for £3.50 and you get 13.5g of product in a sleek case with a nice-sized mirror. I use the various shades to counteract redness and sallowness in my complexion and also to set my under eye concealer.

The nail polishes all have a very good stay-on time without chipping even without a top coat on. Applying polish without a top coat is the best way to test longevity of a polish and these 3, besides being hot shades for this summer, passed my test!!

e.l.f.'s dual pencil sharpener is a very good deal. For £1.50, you get 2 sharpeners, the dual one and a bonus single one. There is also a picker installed in the side of the dual one which you can use to remove any colour remnants from the blades. The cap and base of the dual sharpener are also detachable for optimum cleaning.

I found mineral foundation to be the best foundation for my skin since it gives me the coverage I need and also, it mops up oil from my skin and leaves me flawless all day.

I got the Napoleon Perdis Protege Lip gloss from a 50 make-up points redemption on Meg's Makeup (If you want to join the site contact me with your email address and I will send you an invite) It has a nice summery coral colour and a fresh minty taste...you feel it tingling on your lips instantly! I have been using this ever since i got it and it is now one of my absolute favourite lip glosses.

The essence concealer is great because you apply just the right amount by twisting the base and then blend it with its brush. It gives me a very fresh look.

Mascara is the one product I NEVER EVER LEAVE THE HOUSE WITHOUT! It gives the eyes an instant lift and you can choose different colours to suit your mood and look. I mostly use black for evenings and brown for natural looks.

So I guess that's all for now :)If you have any questions or queries don't hesitate to contact me...

Stay beautiful,

Laraxoxo